Best running back tandem in college football? Look to the Pacific Northwest

College football is right around the corner and the Star-Telegram is bringing you its Top 25 teams going into the season.

Today we look at No. 6 – Washington.

Top 25 to date

LSU (25); Texas (24); Central Florida (23); Oregon (22); Florida State (21); Boise State (20); USC (19); Mississippi State (18); Michigan (17); Virginia Tech (16); TCU (15); Notre Dame (14); West Virginia (13); Stanford (12); Michigan State (11); Miami (10); Auburn (9); Penn State (8); Oklahoma (7).

Nuts and bolts

Location: Seattle

Coach: Chris Petersen (37-17, four seasons at Washington; 129-29 overall at Boise State and Washington)

2017: 10-3, 7-2 in Pac-12 (lost to Penn State 35-28 in Fiesta Bowl)

Last league title: 2016

Three things to know

1. 1-2 punch. There aren’t many better running back tandems than with the Huskies in the Pacific Northwest.

Myles Gaskin has rushed for at least 1,300 yards in each of his three seasons, including a season-best 1,380 last year. More impressive is his 21 touchdowns on the ground.

Salvon Ahmed is the perfect complementary runner, averaging 6.4 yards a carry last season.

2. More offense. Outside of the stout running game, the Huskies are impressive all-around on offense. Left tackle Trey Adams is back from surgery and has NFL potential.

Quarterback Jake Browning is working his way into the Washington record books, and already owns most touchdown passes (78).

Browning completed 68.5 percent of his passes last season with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions.

3. Big loss on D. The good news? The Huskies return nine starters on defense. The bad? They lost arguably their most disruptive player.

Defensive tackle Vita Vea is in the NFL now, and will have work to do to be the Pac-12’s best defense for four consecutive seasons. It’s not far-fetched though.

Washington has an elite secondary, and Greg Gaines is a force inside that can help fill the void of Vea.

Three games to watch

1. Sept. 1 vs. Auburn. A top-10 matchup to open the season could set the tone for each team.

2. Oct. 13 at Oregon. Washington stumbled at Arizona State in its seventh game last season. Game 7 is at Oregon this year, and the Huskies want to avoid that pitfall again.

3. Nov. 3 vs. Stanford. The winner of this game likely secures a spot in the Pac-12 championship game.